Top light and sound artists and funk band to dazzle at Arts Café’s Christmas bash

November 26, 2009

The Eden Project Arts Café returns on December 4 for its Christmas party featuring energetic south coast funksters King Porter Stomp.

Based in Brighton, the octet will bring an exciting mix of ska, funk and hip-hop paired with socially-conscious lyrics. Resident DJs Jelly Jazz will be on hand throughout the evening, spinning their trademark mix of funk, soul and jazzy breaks.

Taking place in the run-up to the Copenhagen Climate Summit, December’s Arts Café will showcase the work of climate art collective Cape Farewell, who are working in collaboration with Eden on a long-term residency developing new installations and performances for Eden’s winter and summer seasons.

As part of this, Chris Levine will be showcasing the next instalment of his “iy_project*”, which debuted with a spectacular light experience at the Paul Weller and Florence and the Machine Eden Session this summer.

His new installation, once again featuring sound by Max Eastley, is similarly spectacular but a more intimate laser and sound piece, in the atmospheric surroundings of the chamber that houses Seed, Eden’s 70 tonne centrepiece to the Core building.

Daro Montag, a Cape Farewell artist and lecturer at University College Falmouth, will be running an installation in which he will demonstrate how to make biochar - a type of charcoal that helps soils retain nutrients and water. Visitors will be able to take a bag of the biochar home and bury it, contributing to a research project Daro is running.

The night will also see the penultimate showing of Anthem, a video and soundscape installation in the Mediterranean Biome by Cape Farewell artists Beth Derbyshire and Ulrike Haage. The performance takes place at 6.30pm and lasts 30 minutes.

Eden’s winter festival A Time of Gifts will be in full Christmas swing on the evening with the ice rink and Biomes both open until 9pm (last skating session starts at 8pm).

Beth Lewitt, Eden’s Events Manager, said: “We’ve got a great band and some stunning art combining to make what will surely be a terrifically funky Christmas party. This will be the last Arts Café of 2009 and we’re going to make sure it sees the year out in style!”

Arts Café starts at 7pm (doors open at 6pm) and runs until 12.30am and admission is £7 per person with a free drink for anyone who books in advance. Anyone bringing a party of ten or more people is entitled to free entry for themselves, provided they book in advance. To contact the Eden box office, see www.edenproject.com or call 01726 811972.